Masking Master Hand
by Percussion Obsessed
Summary: What happens when Master Hand is stolen? It's up to six Smashers to get him back, following the hints in the notes of the handnapper. Implied ZxL, slight MxS and RxP
1. Chapter One: The Note

This is the worst of the chapters, but also the most humorous.

**Chapter One: The Note**

It was a rainy day at Smash Mansion. Rain drizzled outside, pit-patting on the roof of the huge place. The Smashers had no hope of seeing daylight within the next few weeks, and so they were planning to make the most of the rain.

In the kitchen were Samus, Zelda, and Peach. They were busy making dinner for the famished Smashers who were most likely outside trampling in mud puddles, and when they came inside, they'd probably have to buy new carpets _again_.

_Maybe we should just get wood floors_, Peach thought to herself as she kneaded the dough for the pizza.

"_LINK_! YOU GOT MY CAPE DIRTY, YOU _BUFFOON_!" Samus covered her ears.

"Can Marth scream like a little girl _any_ louder?"

"I wouldn't bet him." Zelda smirked, tossing her chocolate hair over her shoulder as she grated the cheese.

"I'm sure he'd feel right here at home with us girls." Peach giggled a bit. "Alright, gals. Ready to put this baby in the oven?!"

The damsels and the bounty hunter slid the pizza into the oven and sat down at the table. An angry, mucky Marth trampled into the room. "Link wants to know when dinner will be ready." He stated flatly, glaring at the trio.

"Not any time soon, and get out! You're getting the tile filthy and I just mopped it," Peach snapped.

Marth gave her a death glare and stalked off, muttering something about dumb, stupid boys in tunics who get _royal_ people's capes dirty. Peach assumed he was going to use her shampoo again. She made a mental note to buy some more the next time she got the opportunity.

"Marth is such a snob! I mean, come on! Who cares if he gets his dumb cape dirty?! He has, like, twenty more capes that will do until he gets it washed," Zelda ranted.

"No, Zelda, it's a special, royal cape that can't just be cleaned regularly, it has to be _gentle _washed, and we'll throw it into the drier just like it was any other cape, not _Prince Marth_'s cape. And then it'll be not as silky and soft and Marth will notice and we'll be in trouble." Samus said sarcastically.

The girls chuckled a bit.

_Ding!_

"Pizza's done."

"Shall I go get the Smashers?" Peach was already out of the kitchen.

Peach stopped at the doorway that led outside and grabbed her pink umbrella. She stepped out the front door of the mansion, opening her umbrella as she did so. Rain hit her deprived umbrella like a bucket of freezing water.

So it wasn't drizzling anymore.

The front of the mansion was shrouded in bushes and flowers, with marble roads. (The flowers were mainly because of Peach and Zelda) a huge fountain with the Smash Symbol carved out of white marble was located in the middle of the greenery. On sunny days, birds loved to take baths in it and soak in the sunshine. The Smashers would often set up beach chairs and get tans in them if the weather was right. The weather was not right on rainy days, so instead the Smashers would just run around like maniacs and hit each other in the head until they'd bleed.

"Hey, all you idiots! Dinner's ready!" Peach yelled as loud as she could. They didn't listen. And if they did hear her, they didn't respond. Peach sighed.

"What's that Peach?!" Roy yelled, a big grin plastered on his face.

"ROY!" Peach became angry with just looking at the brainless redhead. She remembered the countless times he had annoyed her, sticking gum in her hair, eating her birthday cake _before_ it was done while she wasn't looking, stealing her Valentine's candy, and restarting the video game system when he was losing and right before she was about to win.

Peach pulled out her Frying Pan of Torture, marched over to the dense teen, and gave him a good whack upside the head with it. "Tell them dinner's ready." Roy nodded and hobbled off to go tell the Smashers.

Satisfied, Peach strolled back to the kitchen to see the whole table set and two girls slicing the pizza. Putting up her parasol, she called, "Let me help you with that."

Zelda looked up. "Where are the rest of the Smashers?"

"I had Roy tell them."

"Roy? He never does anything for you."

"I have my ways," Peach said slyly, rubbing her Frying Pan. Zelda smirked.

"Well, put these pizzas on the table."

"Kay."

Samus looked up. "Hey, did you get Marth?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I didn't. Would you mind to get him?"

Samus frowned. "Alright. But if I get dust on his sword, I'm in big trouble."

The bounty hunter walked to the hallway where Marth was. It was long, clean, and had pictures of the Smashers that were in this hallway on the white walls. The floor in the hallways was cherry wood flooring, unlike the main carpet and tile. It was a bit more formal than most of the mansion (they couldn't really keep it too clean because of Wario), but homey nevertheless.

Samus knocked on his door.

"What do you want?" Came the muffled response from behind the door.

"Dinner's ready, Pretty-Boy. Quit putting on your make-up and come on."

"How dare you speak to me that way, you imbecile?!" Marth sounded outraged.

"Who are you calling an imbecile, Mr. Self Absorbed?!" Samus snapped back.

"HEY YOU TWO, DO NOT MAKE ME COME UP THERE! MR. FRYING PAN OF TORTURE IS WAITING FOR YA!" Peach's voice shattered the air like broken glass.

Samus and Marth winced. "I'll be out in a second, _Miss Samus._ It's hard being this dazzling, you know. Or . . . you really wouldn't, would you?"

"Just come on, Pretty-Boy." Samus growled.

Marth opened the door, revealing the azure-haired prince we all love and admire (not really).

Samus sneered. "It took you that long to look like _that?_"

"Oh, I wouldn't be talking. It took _you_ three hours to lo-"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? MR. TORTURE WILL BE UP THERE IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The two high-tailed it out of Marth's doorway.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

"Ah, Samus, may I say that you're looking as beautiful as a clear summer day with little birdies and flowers and butterflies..." began Captain Falcon.

"Shut up." Samus punched him in the face.

"Oww!"

"Falcon, please be careful not to get blood on the white table cloth." Peach scolded him.

"What . . . did you not just see her punch me?!"

"Eat, Falcon, the Pizza's getting cold," Zelda muttered.

Captain Falcon sighed and sat down.

* * *

**Smash Living Room**

The Smashers were full, and the sun was down. Rain still splattered against the roof of the manor, and the smell of popcorn filled the air.

"It's movie night!" Roy cried excitedly, holding up a bag of movies he rented. "What do you all want to watch tonight?" He dumped the sack on the ground, revealing about five movies.

Peach walked in with a bowl of popcorn, frowning. "Those are all blood and gore movies, Roy."

"And you wanted me to pick some chick flick, didn't you?" Roy frowned.

"Oh gosh no, not the chick flicks again!" Samus said, entering the room with another bowl of popcorn. Everyone was dressed in their pajamas; Peach in her pink sweats and a T-Shirt, Samus in a blue tank and shorts, Zelda in a purple tank and sweats, and the boys mainly in tee shirts and shorts. Excluding Marth, who was in silk.

"None of these movies are worthy of me." Marth sneered, turning his nose away. Everyone ignored him.

Roy picked up one. "Oh! Let's watch this one!"

Peach stared at the cover of the movie. "Why pick one with so much blood?" Her eyes were reasonably wide.

"Oh, come on, scared, are ya?" He smirked.

"What--? No!" Peach sat down on the couch and crossed her arms. Roy plopped down beside her.

"Marthy-Boy, care to pop this is in for us?"

"I certainly hope you're not serious."

"Alright. How about you, Link?"

"Suuure Roy!"

"Ok Link!"

Link jumped up from his slouch on the couch (A/N: LOL poet and didn't know it), put the DVD in, and turned it on.

* * *

**Smash Living Room**

Peach, Zelda, Captain Falcon, and Marth's eyes were saucers. Samus had fallen asleep. Roy was wincing as Peach clung to his arm and he swore he saw blood running down it halfway during the movie. Zelda had her eyes covered with her hands, but she still screamed. Marth was just sitting there. Captain Falcon was clinging to a snoring Samus (he was probably lucky she was asleep). The rest of them had gone to sleep in their rooms.

Roy pulled his arm away from Peach. She turned towards him. "Is it over?"

Roy smirked. "Yes, Peachy."

"WAIT A MOMENT, I WAS TOUCHING YOU?!" Peach jumped fifteen feet into the air and pulled out her frying pan.

"Now hold on a moment Peach . . ." Roy began, but Peach silenced him by whacking him with Mr. Torture.

Roy seriously didn't understand that woman.

Marth got up abruptly and walked to his room.

The now awake Samus jumped at the opportunity. "What's that Girly-Boy?! So scared you have to go to sleep now? HUH?!" She was grinning ear to ear.

"Shut up." He walked off.

Samus shrugged. "What's gotten into him?"

Peach was done beating up a bleeding, bruised Roy and turned her attention to Samus. "I don't know. He has bad mood swings, don't worry." Samus smirked.

"I wonder if he's PM-"

"SAMUS!" The girls glared at her.

"What? Just wondering."

* * *

**The Next morning**

Peach sat in the kitchen, staring at a piece of paper, frowning. She was on the counter, and a bowl of batter was at her side. Zelda and Samus walked into the room.

"What's that?" Zelda peeped over Peach's shoulder.

"It's a note, but from whom I don't know." Peach shrugged Zelda off. "It says, 'If you want your precious Master Hand, then go to the alley on Nintendo Street for further instructions.' What do you suppose we do?"

"Well, Master Hand is the one who opens and creates the stages we go to. We couldn't even fight without him!" Samus propped her head in her hands. "And what alley could they be talking about? Nintendo Street is a good place. That's where Kirby's café is, and also Snake's weaponry. I thought they put little stands in the alleys."

"I don't know, there might be one without those little stands. And whoever can take Master Hand without us knowing might just clear a path on their way." Zelda leaned against the fridge. "So, what should we do?"

Peach thought a moment. "Do you think we should tell everyone?"

"Tell everyone what," said a voice no one could mistake. Link walked into the room. "Yes, I did hear everything," he added, noticing the looks on their faces. "So, what should we do?" Link imitated Zelda's voice. She hit him on the head.

"What do you think, Link?"

"I dunno."

"A typical boy."

"HEY!"

"And _where _is my breakfast?" Marth glared at all of them, especially Link and Samus.

"Oh. Good morning, Marth, take a look at this note I found this morning." Peach handed him the paper.

"Hmm . . . interesting. I'm going to go take my morning shower." Marth put the paper on the counter and began to walk off.

"Now hold on a moment, mister!" Peach grabbed his ear and flung him into a chair.

"Great, now I have to wash my ear extra hard." Marth sighed.

"Oh, stop complaining! Our Master is taken and we're just going to take our morning showers? Come _on _guys! We can do better than that! I say we go to get our Master back!" Peach had her hands on her hips.

"Well, we can't take everyone. They'd all just get in the way." Samus scratched her chin. "I say we take all of us and Roy.

"But who will take care of the others while we're gone and working? We need someone responsible."

"How about Snake? He's good with kids. And Ike, too. Mario knows how to cook . . . pasta." Zelda smiled. "It could work out after all. We just need someone to tell them all what's happening. Or, at least Snake, Ike, Roy, and Mario."

Peach pursed her lips. "Well, alright then. Link, go tell them." Link nodded and left.

Marth grimaced. "Why do I always get dragged into these situations?"

"Stop complaining, Girly-Boy," Samus snarled at him. "Or I'll break your face so you _can't_ complain."

"Don't start, you two." Peach threatened. "I'll bring out Mr. Torture."

Link jogged back into the room, Roy following, yawning. His hair was disheveled and he was still in his pajamas.

"So, like, when do we leave?" Roy gazed around at them.

"When we all get dressed." Everyone began walking to their rooms.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

The six were now in the kitchen, fully dressed, and awake. Peach wore a pink t-shirt and jeans, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Zelda was wearing a mini skirt and a purple jacket with a white tank underneath. Samus was just in jeans and a grey hoodie. Marth was dressed in his normal tunic, pants, cape, and boots. (A/N: don't forget his tiara!) Link was in jeans and a polo, and Roy was in jeans and a jacket.

Peach pulled out her umbrella, and everyone else followed suit. "Ready, guys?"

Roy frowned. "We're taking the car, right?"

"Well, yeah! But we have to bring our umbrellas for when we get out of the car, right?"

"Oh."

The teens piled out the door and into one of the Smash Mobiles. In the front were Samus and Peach, middle were Zelda and Link, and back were Marth and Roy. "Why do I have to be in the back, but also by _Roy_?" Marth complained.

"Shut up." Samus turned her head around so she could glare at him and he glared back.

Peach started the engine and began driving to Nintendo City. It would probably take about 10 minutes to get there at least. She hoped Samus and Marth could resist strangling each other in that time. "Do you guys want to listen to some music?"

"No."

"Okay then." Peach frowned.

It was exceedingly silent, except for the purr of the engine and the sound of the windshield wipers. Occasionally the sky would crack a flicker of lightning and thunder would follow. The roads were slick and dark, with puddles here and there. Thy sky was smoky grey and gloomy.

"I'm hungry," Roy declared.

"Well . . . is anyone else hungry?" Peach asked calmly.

"No."

"Sorry Roy, but it'll have to wait."

"Harrumph."

Peach sighed. "Only five more minutes before we reach Nintendo Street. Just hang on." It was getting a little claustrophobic in the car.

"Good because I can't stand sitting here next to Roy. He keeps poking me."

"Is it going to ruin your precious limited edition silk fabric from Africa? Oh you poor, poor thing," Samus muttered.

"I heard that, Blondie."

"What's that, Girly-Boy?!"

"Well, if you'd clean out your airplane ears, you'd hear me better!"

"BOTH OF YOU, I HAVE MR. TORTURE. DO NOT MAKE ME GET HIM OUT."

"Yes'm."

"Well, we're here." Peach had parked the six in the parking lot of Kirby's Café. "Now all we have to do is find that alley."

**End of Chapter**


	2. Chapter Two: The Alley

**_And here is chapter two of my story. I hope you enjoy it. I'm actually pretty proud of this story._**

**Chapter Two: The Alley **

The six heroes walked down the brick paths of Nintendo Street, looking desperately for some clue to the whereabouts of the next note. Cheerful, familiar faces lit up at the sight of the Smashers, and waved at them from under their umbrellas. They all seemed to be happy even though the clouds wanted to bring them down.

Rain splattered against windows of shops and on the road. The six probably would look strange to normal people (six people walking together, one dressed like a prince, on walking tough, on poking a girl, and two with long elf ears), but this _was_ Nintendo Street. A lot of people were weird here.

Glancing down every alley, the heroes found nothing that resembled an alley to hide an important note in. Instead, they saw cheerful posters, closed down shops with umbrellas protecting the merchandise, side doors, and rain. Lots of rain.

"I can't believe I expected us to be able to find it . . ." Zelda sighed.

"Oh, come on you guys! We can find it if we just look harder!" Peach was her usual, cheery self.

"It's not as easy as the movies make it seem." Roy moaned.

"It never is! Stop complaining! You're starting to sound like Marth!" Samus shot a glare at the azure-haired prince.

"That _idiot_ couldn't sound like me if he tried."

"Well, I wouldn't consider that a bad thing!"

"You foul-mouthed peas-"

"AHEM." Peach pulled out her Frying Pan.

"Shutting up now."

The six all seemed to stop. The rain patted on their umbrellas. They all looked at each other. A streak of lightning lit up the sky. "Let's get something to eat now." Roy was the first to speak.

The others nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Kirby's Cafe**

"Hello! Welcome to Kirby's Café! Oh, hello, guys." Kirby recognized them and showed to them to a table. "Want some soup?"

"Yeah, I'm starving."

Once they were all done eating the soup, Kirby approached them. "It's noon. Do you guys have anything to do? Would you mind helping out around the kitchen or taking orders?"

Marth scoffed, but was silenced by Samus' elbow. "Actually, Kirby, we _would_, but we have some other errands to do. Sorry." Samus smiled apologetically.

"Oh, no it's fine." Kirby walked back to the kitchen.

"Hmm . . . we got away without paying." Peach grinned. "Good thing too, cause what with six bowls already, Roy just _had_ to get three more bowls. I ponder at how you stay so skinny sometimes."

"It's all in the charm."

"_What _charm?"

"Good point." Roy hesitated. "HEY!"

"Okay, guys, we need to get going. That note isn't going to find itself, you know." Link looked around at all of them.

"Wow, Link, that's one of the few times you've talked today," Samus exclaimed.

Link glared at her.

"Buuut, I suppose you're right."

* * *

**Streets of Nintendo City**

Zelda briskly walked at the front of the group. She had a feeling in her gut that something bad was going to happen. She stopped abruptly. What was that she just had seen? An alley?

"What is it, Zelda?" Link was at her side in a flash.

"I think I just found our alley."

The alley was long and dark, slimy and cold. Rats crawled around the floors, and the stench was horrible. It practically reeked of dead rat and sewage. Moss grew in between cracks in the ground, and a fog emitted from it.

"Since when did alleys in Nintendo Street become like this?" Roy said, glancing at a rat that scurried over his shoe.

"I don't know, but I know this is it." Zelda said as she began to walk forward.

Everything seemed to stop as they walked down the long alley. The sound of their shoes on the squeaky ground was louder than guns exploding. Their ears rang with nervous anticipation. Finally, they came to a halt at the end of the alley. The pungent stench was almost unbearable.

Nostrils flaring, Roy bent down and picked up a piece of paper on the ground. It was damp and grimy, crinkled up like someone was going to toss it into a trash can. He slowly unwrinkled it and peered down at the sloppy words expectantly.

"It reads, 'Good. You've passed phase two. Solve the riddle, get your Master back. You'll find the riddle; something that's littered, but organized. It's old, but contains the past and present. Good luck. I'm looking forward to it.'"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" Link snarled at the paper. Zelda put her hand on his arm.

"Whatever we make of it."

"Dun, dun dun DUN." Samus whispered.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

The six Smashers were seated around the kitchen. The rest of the Smashers were probably playing with Snake's weapons, blowing stuff up, or getting limbs chopped off by Ike. They didn't see Mario anywhere, but the Smashers weren't screaming, so he'd probably fed them.

"This riddle doesn't make any sense. What kind of place can hold the dang past and present? It's impossible! This is stupid!" Roy put his head in his hands and glared at the note.

Though they didn't say it, the other five were thinking the exact same thing. What _did_ hold the past and present? And what was littered but organized? How could it all fit together?

"Hmm . . . could it be a time warp?" Link suggested.

"No, a time warp isn't organized but littered. Also, in the note it would say it held the future, too. This object can only hold the present and past." Zelda smiled solemnly at the elf.

"What if it isn't an object? If it's a place?" Marth looked around at the others.

They remained silent, each deep in thought. What if it _was _a place? But what could the place be?

"Could it be . . . a garden? Perhaps it's saying that the plants of the past and of the present are there. And the soil is littered, I guess . . ." Peach sighed and crossed her arms against her stomach.

The others didn't reply. They knew the answer. The Smashers didn't realize when the clock struck ten, and they had all already fallen asleep on the kitchen table.

* * *

A mysterious figure lurked the streets. It checked its watch; 1:00 a.m. All the lights in the street were off, and the shops were closed for the day. The figure smirked. It swiftly headed down the brick roads, heavy rain pouring on it and drenching it from top to bottom. It stopped and turned left.

The familiar stench of dead rats and sewage fought its way to the figure's nostrils. It stepped on one of the rat's tails and the rodent gave a painful squeal. The figure pressed its foot down and the rat screeched in agony. The figure stepped off of the rodent and continued walking forward.

Once the shadowy figure reached the end of the alley, in squatted and ran its hand on the ground. No note. It smirked, an evil grin spreading on its face. A bolt of lightning flashed overhead, revealing murderous, cruel, gleaming eyes.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

Marth groaned, raising his head from his arms to take in his surroundings. A table. Five Smashers. Oh great, that _wasn't_ a dream. Surprisingly, all six of the heroes seemed to be awaking at the same time. 5:00. Well, except for Roy, but he didn't count since Peach whacked him with Mr. Torture to wake him up.

Then he realized someone's head was on his shoulder. He desperately hoped it wasn't Link's. He turned his head slowly, first seeing the blonde hair in a ponytail, then the grey hoodie. (**A/N:** huh wut? D:) Samus.

Samus.

SAMUS?!

Marth jumped fifteen feet into the air, shoving Samus off as he did so.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he panted, the hair rising on the back of his neck.

"Mmm? What's that, Gir . . . nnn . . . GIRLY-BOY?!" Her eyes widened. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO GET FRESH WITH ME?! AND WHILE I'M ASLEEP, TOO!"

"I DID NOT TRY TO GET FRESH WITH YOU! YOU FELL ASLEEP ON MY SHOULDER! AND NOW THE FABRIC'S RUINED BECAUSE YOU _DROOLED!_ YUCK!"

"I WAS DROOLING BECAUSE I WAS THINKING OF . . . UH . . . FOOD! YEAH, FOOD!"

"Oh dear, Samus, are you hungry? And you two really should stop yelling, you'll wake the whole house up." Peach was concerned, as usual, but she didn't need to be worried about Samus waking the house up. Most of the Smashers were used to being woken up early in the morning by yelling, and usually they just shrugged it off and fell back asleep immediately. Even most of the newcomers had already become familiar with the regular yelling. Most of them, that was . . .

"HOLY FLYING FRIED FLAPJACKS! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" Ike was in the doorway, holding a teddy bear, still in his pajamas.

"Nothing unusual. Want something to eat?" Peach was pulling out her frying pan. Everyone, excluding Ike, winced at the sight of it. "I'm not going to hurt you all! I'm just going to make bacon, sheesh."

"Well, um," Ike began. "I'd love to and all, but I don't want to interfere with your detective work. Anything that gets me fighting faster." He winked and departed.

Peach blushed. "Wow! He is so fine!" She giggled a bit. Roy frowned.

"Come on; let's continue thinking about that note before we melt into puddles because of some blue haired jerk."

"Like Marth," Samus added. Marth looked at her darkly. _Only I don't melt into puddles_, Samus chuckled in her mind.

Zelda smirked a bit. "Is someone jealous?" She raised her eyebrows at the sight of Roy's face going beet red.

"NO!"

"What?" Peach looked up from the bacon she was cooking.

"Uh, nothing."

"Hmm."

Link sat up. "We need to get back to work on this mini riddle. If we can't figure this thing out, how on Earth will we figure out the other riddle? This stuff is probably kindergarten compared to the real deal."

The others nodded in agreement. Peach set a plate of bacon on the table as she motioned for Zelda and Samus to help her with the waffles. "Don't eat the bacon!" She glared at Roy, who already had half a piece shoved into his mouth.

"Well, what else are you supposed to do with bacon?" He mumbled, bacon crumbs falling out of his mouth. "It's not like this is a bacon art show or something."

Peach glowered at him, huffed, and turned around. She began to swiftly mix the batter, acting like it was Roy's brains. He obviously didn't have them anymore.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

"Alright. So, it holds the past and present, is organized yet littered, and it's not a time warp or a garden. That's all we know." Everyone had finished eating and now were discussing the note.

"Hmm . . . well, I just don't know what it could be! I'm completely out of ideas!"

"Maybe we should give it a rest and take a break." Marth looked around hopefully.

"The more we wait, the more danger Master Hand is in."

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom." Roy got up and walked out of the kitchen. As he approached the hall that held the facilities, a wide-eyed Snake was standing there, staring into blank space. He was wearing a shirt that had a piranha plant on it and said "Bite Me" above it (I'm so unor, with dark jeans.

"Snake? Snake?! Snaaaaaaaake?!"

"Roy." Snake turned his head to the redhead, his eyes still wide.

"What is it, Snake? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"It's Ike. He's missing."

* * *

**Ike's Room**

Roy scrambled in Ike's room, desperately searching for something, some note, some _sign_ to the knight's disappearance. He tossed Ike's blue blankets aside, and eventually slammed his fist against the wall in anger and frustration. "Why? Why, why, WHY?!" Roy muttered as he punched the wall.

Though Roy didn't know it, Peach was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and face pale. Rain splattered outside. "Roy . . ." she muttered.. "Roy! Roy, stop!" Her eyes welled with tears and she approached him.

Roy glared at her a glare so painful and horrifying; it was like taking a blow to the heart. "Peach. Go away. NOW!" His face was inches away from hers and his voice shook with pain and rage.

Peach lifted her hand into the air and slapped him. Roy blinked once, twice, three times. "Roy. What _happened?_"

Roy explained everything to her. "He was one of my best friends, Peach! And now he's gone!" Peach put a hand on his back and patted him awkwardly.

"Uh, there, there, Roy." Peach slowly bent down and picked something up. "Huh? What's this? A note?"

Roy's head shot up. "What." It came out as more of a statement than a question; his voice didn't rise as it would if it was a question. "A note."

"Yeah. It's about Ike. It says, 'I see you've found this note. Good for you, but can you find him? Stop dawdling or I'll take the rest of your precious friends to convince you to hurry up. I do not have time for games, Smashers.'" Peach glanced at Roy. "Let's go tell them." Roy nodded.

* * *

**Smash Kitchen**

"So Ike's missing now, too, and we can conclude that the person who took Ike is the same person who kidnapped Master Hand. They left a note, and we've concluded that it means that every day we waste, another person will be stolen." Zelda had kept a notepad and written every piece of evidence down on it. "So, basically, if we don't hurry up and solve this mystery, everyone we're close with and know will be picked off."

The other's nodded in agreement.

"But . . ." Samus looked up from her coffee, and her eyes had deep purple circles under them. "What's bothering me is how easily this person is taking our people here at Smash Mansion. Surely Ike and Master Hand wouldn't go without some kind of fuss. So . . . it's making me wonder if one of our fellow Smashers is the one doing this."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, from stirring coffee to jotting notes down, and looked at Samus. They didn't want to believe it, but she had a major point. Suddenly, Link took out a sheet of paper and wrote down all of the Smasher's names, marking out Ike's and Master Hands'. He hesitated a moment, but marked out the six that were investigating the mystery, too.

"What exactly does this guy want? Money? Power? What could we, a group of people and creatures that beat each other up, have for this person?" Peach murmured, her voice barely audible.

Samus suddenly shot up from her chair, knocking it over and slamming her fist into her palm, smiling. "It all makes sense! The second note, that is. The place where the third note is! I know it!" Everyone stared at her, urging her to continue. "It's the attic! It's organized but littered. See, there are boxes everywhere, scattered and really dusty and all, but it's organized, 'cause everything is packed into the boxes! And it holds the past and present! What the boxes hold is the past and present, from pictures and weapons, to calendars for this year!"

Everyone stared at her for a moment. Marth stood up, shaking her hand and smiling. "You're a genius, Samus."

Samus snickered, and playfully added, "You just noticed?"

* * *

**Smash Kitchen, Later That Evening**

Peach stood around the table, staring at each and every one of them. "Alright. We'll head up to the attic and find the note; however, we don't have much time to waste! Keep too long and I'll bring Mr. Torture to your butts. The longer we take, the more people get taken every day. It's already lonely without Ike here."

The six nodded, and stood, each looking fierce in their own way. Even Marth, in all his feminine glory. They marched to the attic stairs and stopped at the base of them. One person at a time, they slowly ascended up the steps, pressure weighing down on them like a ton of bricks . . .

**End of Chapter**


	3. Chapter Three: Riddles

Here is the sort-of awaited chapter three. Things are getting pretty tense in Smash Mansion! What shall the six heroes do? Eat pizza, of course!

**Chapter Three: Riddles**

The six heroes walked steadily up the stairs leading into the musty attic, blowing away cobwebs and dust as they proceeded further into the stairway. Once they had reached the doorway, they held their breath as Roy slowly approached the door.

"Man, this is dramatic." Roy grinned over his shoulder at the other Smashers, who let out their breath in a sigh.

"Just open the dang door, Roy."

"Yes, Miss Peachy."

"And shut up, while you're at it."

"Kay."

Roy opened the door and peered inside. "Ew. How long has it been since you've cleaned this thing out, Zelda?"

"Why do I have to clean everything?!"

"Well, I have to cook everything." Peach frowned.

"Samus doesn't do anything."

"That's cause I don't feel like it." Samus turned and, if looks could kill, Zelda would be dying a slow, painful death. "I'm a cold-hearted and ruthless bounty hunter. We DON'T clean and cook."

"Yes'm." Zelda's eyes were saucers.

Roy pushed the door open for everyone to see. The room was dark and dirty, and filled with cobwebs. The things were practically swarming in the room. As they walked over to the larger boxes, dust scattered under their boots and shoes and floated into the air around them, sending a chill up their spines. Thunder boomed overhead and lightning lit up the window. The lights flickered.

_Bzz._

_Bzz._

_Bzzzzzz . . ._

The lights went out.

"What time is it?" Roy looked at Link, the only one who most likely had a watch on him.

"Hmm . . . 8:23 p.m."

"Okay then, thanks."

"Oh, darn! That was my foot, Girly-Boy."

"Harrumph. Move your foot then, Samus. What was it doing by me anyway?"

"Uh, nothing."

"Hey, guys, I think I found something." Zelda peered over her shoulder at the other heroes. They all walked slowly over to her, desperate to a clue or a riddle. "Look, its ROY AS A BABY!"

They others chuckled at Roy in a diaper. "Z-Zelda!" He scowled at her. His face was as red as his hair.

Peach pinched him on the cheek. "You were so cute!" Roy was too happy and embarrassed by her words to hear the next part she said, which was, "Too bad you don't look like that anymore."

_She called me cute,_ were the only words going on in Roy's head.

"Hey Peach! Here's a picture of Ike in a bathing suit!" Zelda sniggered as Peach swooned over the photo of a shirtless Ike.

Roy stole the picture from her and grimaced, tearing it to pieces. "There's no need for that."

"I told you he was jealous," Samus whispered in Marth's ear. He blushed a bit, but he assured himself it was because of the hot, muggy room. He stepped away from her.

"Don't get so close to me, _Aran._" He spit the last word out as if it were poison.

"Sorry for talking to you, Girly-Boy." Samus turned her nose away, hurt. What did she ever do to him? He was such a jerk. "You are such a jerk."

Marth just turned away and muttered something that sounded like 'mucking pass bowl'. Samus chose to ignore this.

Marth squatted down on his knees, narrowing his eyes at the lack of light. He pushed a few boxes out of the way and peered in a box titled, "Past Information-Hidden Files". Curious, he picked up an envelope and looked at the title. "Samus Aran".

He tucked it into his tunic and got up. "I don't see anything over here."

"Hmm."

* * *

A few minutes passed as people were looking everywhere for a piece of paper with a riddle on it.

Zelda lost her balance while trying to get a better look at a small box and fell to the floor. Her rear end hit something sharp and hard. She anxiously got up and looked at it. A handle?

"Link, guys, I think I found something," she murmured quietly. The other Smashers gazed over her shoulder, interested.

"A trap door?"

"No, you idiot, if it was a trap door, she would have fallen in."

"A passage? Maybe the riddle's in here."

"Let's go in."

The room was so dark that the heroes couldn't see anything, and the door made a loud clunk as it shut behind them.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Roy looked around nervously at everyone.

"Hey, Zelda, do you think you can give us some light?" Samus ignored Roy's question.

"Yeah, sure." Zelda lit the room dimly with Din's Fire, holding it in the palm of her hand and raising it to examine the room.

The room seemed eerie in the dark red light. Cobwebs piled the corners and caught onto old furniture, and old rotten books were in stacks on the floor. A tall bookshelf was covered in dust in one corner, and a treasure chest was in another corner. A small, cracked light bulb dangled in the middle of the ceiling, begging to be repaired.

Peach walked ahead and squatted down at the pile of books. "Strange," she muttered, squinting. "All of these books are about . . ."

Everyone held their breath, urging her to continue.

"Butter knives."

The five other Smashers sighed and rolled their eyes. "Butter knives? You're kidding, right?"

Peach giggled. "Yeah, they're actually about 'The Art of Dark Magic'."

"Sounds like something Gannondork would do." Link said, annoyed.

"Hmm. Oh well, let's move on." Marth grumbled as he stumbled towards the chest. It opened easily, and he peered inside. "What the heck?"

Samus shoved him aside and looked into the chest. "What the fluff?"

Marth rolled his eyes and looked into the chest beside her. "It's a note." He picked it up and looked at it. It was too dark to read, even with Zelda's light, but he knew exactly what it was. "We found our riddle."

"That's great and all, but how are we going to get out of here? I'm hungry again. What time is it now, Link?" Roy huffed and leaned against a wall, clutching his rumbling stomach.

"Uhh . . . 10:04."

"You mean we've been in here for two hours?!"

"Yeah."

"Augh! I'm hungry! Let's hurry up and get out of this place so I can eat some food!"

"Alright."

The six Smashers walked up the stairs leading to the passage, and opened the door. They arrived in the oh-so-familiar attic and breathed in deeply, enjoying the sort of fresh, less-musty smell. "Ah. Home sweet attic." Peach sighed.

"I'm hungry."

"I know that, Roy."

After they made their way down the stairs that led into the kitchen, they noted that the power was still out. "Maybe we can order takeout."

"I want Chinese!"

"They won't accept Chinese takeout at 10:00 at night."

"How about . . . Outback Steakhouse?!"

"Psh. That's dumb. Let's just get pizza and call it a night."

And so the heroes heroically called Pizza Hut (on Peach's cell phone) and ordered pizza heroically. Heroically.

"Uh, yes, I would like to order a large-"

"NO MAKE IT AN EXTRA LARGE!"

"I'm sorry, an _extra large_ pepperoni-"

"I WANT MEAT LOVERS!"

"Make that an extra large meat lover's pizza-"

"WITH CINNAMON STICKS!"

"Hang on just a moment." Peach pulled the phone away from her face. "ROY! WOULD YOU JUST SHUT THE #&! UP! I'M TRYING TO ORDER THE #&! PIZZA!" Peach pulled the phone back to her face. "I'm sorry. Yes, I would like an extra large meat lover's pizza with cinnamon sticks."

Peach hung up and turned to Roy, her face twisted in a horrifyingly ugly sense of torturing anger. Roy cringed and smiled nervously.

"Uh, I-I have t-to uh, use the uh, b-bathroom," he stuttered nervously.

Peach pulled him close to her face by his collar and whispered in his ear menacingly. "I hope you can't have children." With that, she kicked him hard in the 'spot'. The worst part for Roy was that she was wearing heels.

Roy crumpled to the floor, crying like a little boy. "GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE I DO IT AGAIN," Peach yelled. Roy scurried off to the bathroom.

Peach turned to a wide-eyed Samus and Zelda, smiling smugly. "That felt good."

Link and Marth were looking sympathetically towards the bathroom door. "Poor, poor, Roy."

"I'm never getting Peach mad in my life."

"I think it might be _that _time of month for her."

"Not a smart move, Roy."

_Ding-dong._

"Pizza's here." Peach scurried off to the door. A handsome young man with spiky black hair, dark eyes, naturally tanned skin and a crooked smile held a pizza box in one hand.

"Hello there. My name's Zackary." He leaned in, looking Peach over. "What's your name?"

"U-uh, my name's Peach Toadstool." She smiled nervously, leaning back, away from the strange teen.

"Really, now," Zackary cooed, taking her hand and kissing it tenderly. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Peach giggled nervously, trying to pull her hand away. It wouldn't budge.

"You have such beautiful eyes."

"Um, that's really nice, t-thank you."

"Perhaps you would like to go out sometime?"

"No, she wouldn't." Peach turned around to the new voice to see Roy standing there, a deadly glare on his face that would make Marth proud.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't know, here's your pizza, bye!" Zackary was gone in a second.

"Roy! What was that for?! He was a nice young man!"

Roy frowned at her. "He was way too young for you. He had to be, at the most, around fifteen."

"So? We're only seventeen! It's only two years!"

"I don't care. Just come on, and let's eat the dumb pizza." Roy walked into the kitchen, leaving a slightly angry, confused Peach in the doorway.

_Roy . . . why did you do that? _

"ALRIGHT! PIZZA!"

Peach shook her head and walked into the kitchen, putting on a fake mask of happiness to hide her confusion.

"Let's look at the riddle while we eat." Everyone nodded to Zelda's idea.

Samus opened it and read it aloud.

_"You wonder not; you think you've got it, well, you can't catch me without the power. I want only one thing: the Smash Ball, if you please. Not the cheap ones, the one that lasts forever. To find me, bring the loot to a room that's plain I'll take it and give you what you want. The woods are where I lay. I look forward to your arrival._

Samus looked around. "What the heck was that supposed to mean?"

They shrugged. What _was _it supposed to mean? Whoever wrote this seriously sucked at poetry. (**A/N:** I know. XD)

"Well, let's figure it out. We're not dumb."

"It practically gives it away anyway. We have to give him the Master Smash Ball, obtain Ike and Master Hand, and then we can go live happily ever after. He's in the woods. Where are the only woods in Nintendo City? Behind Smash Mansion. It'll be a piece of cake." Link smiled to himself.

"But . . . should we really give away the Master Smash Ball? Someone could take over the world with that thing then destroy us with a fingertip. It gets us in our most powerful mode for as long as we 

want it to. We aren't even aloud to touch the thing; most people who touch it go insane with power. There's no telling what this guy will do with it." Peach looked around at them, nervous.

"But what about Ike and Master Hand?" Roy frowned.

"Roy has a point. He'll keep taking our friends until we give them the Master Smash Ball. Eventually, we'll be picked off too. Really, our only choice is to give him the Smash Ball."

**End of Chapter**


	4. Chapter Four: Ice Cream and Codes

I don't really have much to say about this chapter (cough filler cough). But I mean, come on, everyone has to get groceries, right?

**Chapter Four: Ice Cream and Codes**

The six champions glanced around at each other, each knowing what they had to do to obtain their friends. It had been reported that Pit had gone missing early this morning, too, so they knew that the abductions weren't going to stop.

"How are we going to get the Master Smash Ball? It's not like Master Hand keeps it where we can get our hands on it all of the time," Link said.

"Well, he has a vault, in case of emergencies; it might say where it is in there. The only problem is that we don't know the code for the vault." Roy sighed.

"Not necessarily! I might know the code; Master Hand stored a few of his memories in me just in case something like this happened. He knows that my mind's hard to get into, but maybe Lucario can get it for us." Samus leaned against the table. "He's psychic. He can probably pry apart minds if he feels like it."

"Let's visit him to find out." Marth glanced at Peach, Zelda, Link, and Roy. "We're running low on food and supplies here, so you four go to the store. Samus and I can take care of anything that goes wrong here. Here's a list with the stuff you need to buy. Don't kill yourselves." Roy pouted.

* * *

**Lucario's Room**

The room was dark and mysterious, with dark blue walls, crystal balls, and a stack of psychic magazines on the bed.

"You want me to look through your memories and find a specific one? That will be . . . difficult." Lucario stared at Samus for a long time. "It will be difficult, but possible."

"I'll do it."

"What's in it for me?"

"How about I buy you a year's subscription to _Psychic's Digest_?"

"Hmm . . . deal." Lucario shook hands with the green-eyed blonde.

Lucario turned around and breathed in deeply. "I will have to sort through all of your memories. Are you sure that you are okay with this choice?"

"Yes. Please do it."

"Okay." Lucario turned back around, his paws glowing with his aura. He placed one paw over her left arm, surrounding it in purple light. "This might hurt, bringing up all of these memories." Samus nodded. She had a feeling it would. Marth stood at her side, looking straight forward.

"I'm beginning."

* * *

**Grocery Store**

"'Hmmm . . . The list says that we need . . .

_-Lots and lots of soda! We run out easily._

_-More things to make pizza out of. This includes: dough, pizza sauce, and cheese._

_-5 tubs of ice cream. They like the chocolate kinds. Just pick some out._

_-More popcorn._

_-Cereal- Super Fluffy Sugar Coated Puff Puffs, Whole Wheat Good4Life, oatmeal, Burrito Flavored Chocolate Puffs, Villain yum-O's, and Ooey Gooey Smack Yums. _

_-Hamburger meat_

_-Pasta_

_-Potato chips_

_-A container of cream cheese_

_-seedless raspberry preserves_

_-lemon juice_

_-sweetened condensed milk_

_-eggs (get lots of containers)_

_-And anything else you can think of_."

The Smashers looked around at each other nervously.

"This'll take a while to get."

"Why do you think that Marth wanted to stay with Samus? And for such a long time?"

"No, it's not for _that_ reason. He just thinks it's reasonable. Who knows?"

Roy grabbed a shopping cart and motioned for the other Smashers to follow him. "Let's get this stuff." (**A/N:** Chariots of Fire theme! Go go red ranger!)

* * *

Marth watched Samus cautiously as she closed her eyes shut tightly and fell limp into Marth's chest. He sighed and held her up, making sure to keep a distance between them. Lucario nodded his thanks and narrowed his eyes, concentrating.

"Why did she pass out?" Marth wondered aloud.

"Having your brain hacked into takes a lot of strength. It's only natural." Lucario answered his question. "She's a hard one to break . . . Probably doesn't want me reading her memories, but she said Psychic's Digest, so I have to do my part. This is going to hurt, Samus." Lucario warned the girl who probably couldn't hear him anyway.

She couldn't hear, but she could scream.

* * *

The first aisle was long and full of all different kinds of cereal; healthy, junk food, sugar coated, squares, puffs, fruit-filled, weight loss, and flakes. Roy picked up boxes of Super Fluffy Sugar Coated Puff Puffs, Whole Wheat Good4Life, oatmeal, Burrito Flavored Chocolate Puffs, Villain yum-O's, and Ooey Gooey Smack Yums, tossing them into the cart as they continued down the aisle.

"Hmm . . . now let's get the . . . pizza ingredients. They should be down this next aisle."

As the four continued to gather food products, they each thought about where the vault could be. Some had a feeling that it was in the attic, some thought it was hidden somewhere no one would ever guess, and some thought it might not even be in the mansion, but every one of them knew one thing; they had to get that Smash Ball.

* * *

Samus' scream wasn't high pitched and girly, but more like a yell. Marth covered her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Lucario. "W-what did you do to her?!"

Lucario looked up at Marth. "Forced my way into her brain. She actually handled that quite well." Thunder cackled overhead. "Oh, look, it's raining again."

"But she yelled!"

"I know that she yelled."

"Just hurry up. I can't stand much more of this whole thing, and I want it done as soon as possible."

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Augh. We finally finished picking up everything. Let's go get something to eat now. Put the ice cream in the cooler so it won't melt." Link sighed and pulled out his umbrella, watching as Roy loaded the large van with groceries. Roy walked back once he was finished, opening his bright scarlet umbrella.

The heroes walked down the sidewalk silently. The roads were slick and wet, and the normally cheerful residents were inside, probably enjoying some kind of tea and not even thinking about the kind of work that the weird looking humans were doing out in this kind of weather.

Finally, the Smashers came to a restaurant that looked promising. It was small and cozy, with a little fire place in the right side of it. A cute looking waiter greeted them and showed them to a booth.

"Hey, my name's Greg, welcome! Can I get you something to drink or an appetizer?"

He looked at Peach expectantly, holding his notebook and pen. "Um, I'll have water with lemon."

"Same here, just no lemon."

"Uh, same as her." Link gestured to Zelda.

"I want . . . ROOT BEER!"

"No you don't!—" Thwack! "—He's getting water, too."

Roy rubbed the place where Peach hit him with Mr. Torture, grumbling as the waiter walked off, who was glancing over his shoulder, frightened, at Peach.

"What was that for?!"

"Root beer makes you hyper, and the last thing we need is a hyperactive Roy running around!"

"Harrumph. Fine then."

* * *

"I'm almost done. Just wait a little longer."

"Okay then. She's getting heavy, though."

* * *

When Greg returned with their drinks, they were all ready to order.

"I'll have the house salad with French dressing." Peach smiled sweetly at the waiter.

"We're sharing the shrimp Alfredo."

"I want the steak with mushrooms."

"How would you like that done, sir?"

"Medium-rare." Roy glanced up at Greg.

The waiter left,

and the Smashers began to discuss important matters.

"I wonder what Marth and Samus are doing . . ." Peach rested her head in her hands.

"Who knows? It's obvious that they are having Samus' mind sorted through."

"That's probably all. Unless they've finished, and if they have, then Marth's probably taking a shower and Samus is probably working out.

The waiter arrived with their meals. They ate quickly and silently, thanked Greg, paid, and left.

* * *

"I'm finally done." Lucario said as he removed his paw from the place on her arm. "Samus can tell you what the code is for the vault. It was stored in her memories, but gosh, it was in there deep." Marth let go of Samus, she had finally awoken.

Samus looked around, noticing Marth, said in a monotone voice, "Marth. I'll tell all of you the codes tomorrow. It's late, and I think I'll go take a shower and go to bed."

Before Marth could say anything else, Samus was gone and Marth was left alone with a slightly shaken Lucario. Marth turned to Lucario and asked, "Samus usually doesn't just leave like that. Were her memories _that_ bad?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me one of them?" Marth, despite his snobbish attitude and rude commentary, was a curious human being.

"One?" Lucario looked thoughtful. "No, I don't think Samus would appreciate me for that."

"Okay."

"ROY! STOP EATING THE ICE CREAM BEFORE WE EVEN GOT IT INTO THE FREEZER!"

"Looks like the other losers are back." Lucario nodded and pushed Marth out of his room.

Marth stood in his doorway and felt it slam shut behind him. _I wonder what the heck is wrong with Samus,_ He thought. He walked swiftly into the kitchen where Roy and Peach were wrestling for the ice cream and Link and Zelda were in a corner talking quietly to themselves.

"Hey, Peach. Peach! PEACH!"

"Huh?" Peach looked up from her choke hold on Roy. Marth grimaced and sighed.

"Would you go talk to Samus? She's in a bad mood."

"Well, sure, silly Marth! Of course I'll go talk to Sammy!" Peach giggled nervously and left the room quickly.

"What's got into her?" Roy frowned.

"What do you mean? She's always like that." Link sat down in a chair.

"Riiiiiiight."

"Well, let's get some shut-eye. It's late and we've got a big day ahead of us . . . we have to get the master smash ball and get our friends back. Yippee." Marth sighed. "I need more beauty sleep. I think I'm starting to see dark circles under my eyes."

"Nothing could fix that face!" Roy grinned and gave Link a high-five. "Ooooh, someone smells like a black marshmallow!"

"Did someone say marshmallow?" Snake appeared out of nowhere and looked around. "I love marshmallows."

Everyone stared at him.

"What?"

"Nothing." Roy shook his head and blinked. "The marshmallows are in the cabinet. We picked some out while we were out."

"Okay." Snake walked over to the cabinet and pulled out one of the ten bags of extra large marshmallows. "You guys sure did pack up on marshmallows. What for?"

"They'll be gone by tomorrow. Just wait. Now, go to sleep. We want to go to sleep, too."

"Okay." All of the Smashers that were awake headed out to their rooms.

Marth walked slowly towards his door, admiring the painting of himself that one of the mansion's butlers had done. He noticed his bright azure eyes, neatly combed blue hair, and perfectly in place manly tiara, but the thing he noticed the most was his slightly crooked smile. The one that didn't look like his. He shook his head and opened the door to his entirely navy room. He sat down at his desk and dug in the drawer of important stuff, as he liked to call it. He pulled out a small envelope that said "Samus Aran" on it and opened it slowly . . .

**End of Chapter**

Oh sweet Canada, that was short! I'm really lazy, aren't I? XD


	5. ITS A DISEASE THAT KILLS KIDDIES

Hay guis, and I would like to sincerely apologize for delaying the story this long, it's just that…

(dramatic pause)

I HAVE A HORRIBLE CASE OF WRITERS BLOCK!

Yeah, that's right kiddies and I also have some other news that might encourage the writer's block. Well, one of my friends died Sunday. If you have time, feel free to kick me in the butt and yell at me, or whatever. It'll be out sometime.

Oh, and another thing is that school is really cramming everything in. I'm on the drumline, and we have after school practice, guitar lessons on Wednesday, algebra teacher that gives homework every day, etc.

Sorry for wasting your time with my nagging. Chapter five is being processed. It's gonna be pretty long, and I have a tendency for horrible endings, but I promise this one will be good. I'll force it to be.

Bye, ya'll.


	6. Chapter Five: The Meeting

**Hay guys, it's me again! *cough* Well well well. Looks like I finally pulled myself out of that writers block (dangit! What am I supposed to put here) to come up with something creative for chapter five. It's not really long, but I'm proud of the ending. And It won't make sense if you haven't done subspace. Just an FYI.**

*~*~*~*

Samus opened her eyes slowly, hearing soft rain and quiet thunder. She lifted her head out of her arms and looked out of her window to see a marshy, sodden palace of rain, rain, and, you guessed it, more rain. She wondered when this stupid rain was going to let up. It had been going on for ages now! She pushed herself up with her arms and drug a brush through her hair. After pulling it into its usual high ponytail, she rubbed her eyes and opened the door to her room. Marth was standing there, and his eyes widened for a millisecond when she opened the door.

"What could you possibly want this early in the morning, Girly-Boy?" Samus muttered darkly, crossing her arms.

"Nothing that concerns you, Aran." Marth narrowed his eyes.

"Well, well, well, then, why are you standing in my doorway, looking oddly flustered?" Samus raised a pale eyebrow.

Marth's face felt a bit warm, and he turned around and walked off.

Samus frowned after him, turned around, and closed her door. As soon as she shut it, it burst open to reveal a wide eyed Roy. "S-Samus! You've got to help me! I'm being hunted alive!"

Samus stared at him. "What'd you do th-"

"ROY! YOU ATE _ALL_ OF THE ICE CREAM! WE JUST BOUGHT IT!"

"C'mon, Sam! Pleaaaase help me! She's going to kill me!"

Samus sighed. "You shouldn't have eaten all of the ice cream. By the by, there was six gallons of it. Why did you eat it all last night? That's just not natural. Gosh, you must have an extremely high metabolism."

"Stop rambling, Sammy!"

"Don't call me that! What a stupid nickname."

"Yeah, yeah." Roy looked around and dove under her bed. "Thanks, Sam!"

"Whatever. Just don't get too comfortable."

Peach burst into the room. She stared at the bed. "Roy, your feet are sticking out."

Samus laughed. Peach didn't. She attacked him with Mr. Torture.

*~*~*~*

At noon, the Smashers sat at the table. "So, Samus, you have the code, right?"

"Yeah. It's 434359302." They stared at her blankly, but since she had it memorized, it was okay.

"Okay."

The Smashers got up and walked towards the long corridor that led into Master Hand's room. A few paintings were hung up, ones of Master Hand and Crazy Hand, pictures of all of the Smashers, just like they were a family. An insane family at that, but a family nonetheless. The pictures were taken in groups: a picture of all the girls, a picture of the kids, a picture of the human boys, a picture of the creatures and non-humans, and a picture of everyone together. Surprisingly, everyone looked slightly happy in the picture with everyone together. Roy was beaming, Peach was smiling widely with her hand on her hip, Link and Zelda were holding hands happily, Marth had a small smile on his usually tense face, and Samus was holding up a peace sign with her hand on Marth's shoulder.

Samus didn't remember doing that.

She frowned and continued walking down, trying to catching up with the rest of the group that had seemed to walk ahead of her. She must have slowed down sub consciously without knowing it. Maybe that's what happened in the picture. Or maybe Photoshop.

Samus shook her head.

"Aran? You coming?" Marth called over his shoulder. Samus nodded and jogged forward.

They finally reached Master Hand's door. It was tall and wide, entirely black, and evil-looking. Roy gulped as Peach turned the door knob slowly, her eyes wide. With a long, low, creak, the door slowly opened. The room was pitch black. They couldn't see anything. Peach took a step inside and hesitated.

"Didn't we bring the flashlights?" Roy handed her one. She ran her hand along it until she found the switch and flicked it on. A dim light cast into the room. It was large and plain. There were no windows and no lights. There was an oversized, oddly shaped bed in one corner, a vanity on one wall, and a wide door that probably led into a closet to their left. A large chandelier hung in the middle, covered in dust and cobwebs. "How often does M.H. actually clean this place?" Peach frowned and stepped into the room. The others followed.

Samus found herself admiring the woodwork on the bed. It was dark, almost black wood, carved very precisely. She ran a cold hand over it once, and pulled herself away. She shuffled her way over to a corner that didn't have anything in it, and kicked something hard. "Ow…" she muttered, squatting down. "Hey, look at this," she called softly over her shoulder. The other Smashers walked over to her to see what she had found.

In front of Samus was a black box that was nailed shut.

"How are we going to open it? It's nailed shut," Peach murmured.

Samus thought. "Hand me the flashlight, Peach." Peach passed it on to Samus, who shone the light on the dark box. It was chained shut, not nailed. A small calculator-looking lock was on it. There was the basic set of numbers on it, zero through nine. "Do I need to enter the code?"

"I assume that would make sense," Marth murmured from behind her. His voice was soft.

Samus began typing the numbers into the calculator-looking lock. It took her about thirty seconds. The lock slowly opened, and the chain fell useless to the ground. Samus' hand moved along the edge of the box until she found a small latch. She flicked the latch open and slowly raised the dark box. There, inside the box, in front of her, was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen in her Smashing history.

The ball was shaped in the all-too-familiar Super Smash Bros symbol, and it was glowing bright gold. The heroes could practically _feel_ the power radiating off of it. Samus reached a shaky hand down to touch the small orb. It was warm. She found the strength in her other hand to grab the Smash Ball and pull it out of the box. Everyone was holding their breath.

"Wow . . ." Samus exhaled. "This is what they want to get a hold of, huh?"

Marth was the first to regain his speech. "I guess so." He hesitated, then placed a pale hand on the glowing orb. His hand felt like it could lift a thousand tons. The sensation was overwhelming. He pulled his hand back. "It feels strange."

Samus nodded slowly. She felt stronger than she had ever felt before. She felt stronger than when she was in hypermode. The power radiated through her, tingling and flowing smoothly. She liked the feeling of it. "This isn't good. This thing is amazingly powerful. Anyone who isn't strong enough that gets a hold of this is doomed. And if they are strong enough, we're doomed."

"Well, let's just hope that the person who took Ike, Master Hand, and Pit is doomed," Peach said. "Come on; let's go get this over with."

*~*~*~*

The Smashers were ready to go face the person behind the kidnappings. They were all dressed casually, to ignore curiosity from the other Smashers, but they were each equipped with their weapons (swords, frying pans, magic, plasma whip, turnips). The Master Smash Ball was tucked neatly inside a bag Samus was carrying. Zelda took Links hand and led him outside, as the others followed. It was still raining, but the Smashers couldn't care less. They were expecting a fight.

The heroes decided that their best approach would be to head to the forest that was behind the Smash Mansion. Since the person said they were in the woods, they assumed that these were the woods they were talking about.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and roun . . ." Roy's voice faded as he saw something move in the corner of his eye. His hand slowly reached for his sword. "Guys," Roy muttered quietly, "I hear something. " The group backed up slowly. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash and everything went blank.

*~*~*~*

_There is fire everywhere, smoke everywhere. I can't see anything; the smoke is burning my eyes. I can't see the ground, there are too many ashes. It's so hot. There's no one else here as far as I can see. _

_"Mommy?! Mommy?! Where are you?!" _

_There is a voice. It's a female, and she's young. Her voice is near. I don't have the strength to move. _

_"Mommy! Where are you? I'm scared!"_

_The voice is closer now. She's moving closer to me. _

_"Mom! Dad? _Anyone?!_" _

_The girl is in clear view now. Her hair is short and blonde, and her clothes are dark and ashy. She has a long cut on her cheek, and she is crying. Her eyes are bright green, just like Samus'. She looks so scared. I want to reach out a hand and comfort her, tell her it will be okay, but my body isn't cooperating. She's looking at me, but it's like she's looking through me. She can't see me. Am I dead? _

*~*~*~*

Marth awoke with a start. He had that dream again.

Marth took a moment to check his surroundings. He was in some kind of lab. The others were on the ground, just like he was. They were in odd poses, though…

Marth drew in a sharp breath. The others were trophies. Which means…

*~*~*~*

Peach lay still on the cold laboratory floors. She couldn't move, but she could feel her body. Her eyes were open wide, and she wanted to blink, but her body wasn't obeying her mind. She couldn't see anyone else, but as far as she could tell, everyone was laying still on the ground.

Suddenly, something grabbed her arm, which stayed stiff, and hauled her into some kind of tube. Now she could see everyone clearly. Zelda, one foot up, one arm out. Link, holding a shield, sword out. Marth, one hand on his hip, sword in other. Samus, one knee bent, gun raised. Her bag was nowhere to be seen. Roy, sword tucked behind him. And Peach stood, fingers intertwined, in this tube, watching. Watching as her friends were moved into tubes identical as hers by a hooded figure that she couldn't identify.

Peach felt so helpless.

She couldn't yell. She couldn't break the glass. She couldn't even pull out Mr. Torture! Here she was, watching as her allies, her friends, her Smashing family was shoved into green tubes by some unknown person! And she was just as everyone made her out to be: a damsel in distress.

Abruptly, the hooded figure pulled off its mask. Peach was half hoping to see the Red Death there, but instead was a human head. It was bright, bright blue, and hurt to look at, but Peach couldn't close her eyes or turn away. The figure spoke in her mind.

_"I am Tabuu."_

And then there was a bright flash of light, and everything was forgotten.

*~*~*~*~*

Peach smiled widely at the large crowd awaiting the first battle of the season. Zelda was at her side, observing the match between Kirby and Mario with her.

A dark ship loomed above the auditorium…

And Peach thought that she should remember something…

But she couldn't…

And then they attacked.

**Side information: Those who were kidnapped, except for Master Hand, were returned in with the others, but couldn't remember anything with the others. A week later, the first battle of the season took place, along with the beginning of subspace. **

**And that's the end of it guys! YAY! It's finally done! *dances around* Ahem. Well I guess I should do the disclaimer thing…**

**I do not own Super Smash Brothers Brawl, or anything related to it. I only own my game. **

**Bye! Hopefully some nice people with be nice and review for me! I sure do like reviews. They make me smile. **

**Oh yeah! Thanks to all of you who did review it. That was nice of you. **

**Until next time… *tips hat***


End file.
